China
Africa
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Challenges of off-site construction: A critical review
Published in Konstantinos Papadikis, Chee S. Chin, Isaac Galobardes, Guobin Gong, Fangyu Guo, Sustainable Buildings and Structures: Building a Sustainable Tomorrow, 2019
Finally yet importantly, sustainable asset management of OSC structures for long-term use requires a good understanding of asset conditions such as tear, wear and functional failure. Traditional auditing which mainly relies on close distance visual checks are quite onerous and sometimes may not suffice the requirements of operation and maintenance safety, efficiency and other considerations. BIM-enabled construction 3D printing is the latest technology introduced in the construction industry, studies on this method of construction is still scarce compared to the studies carried out on traditional modular construction. The knowledge concerning the potential, limits of application and process performances of both these technologies in conjunction with modular construction is essential as they are the future drivers of enhanced construction practices throughout the world. To overcome this lack of available understanding, this paper formulates a list of comparison points between BIM (and peripheral technologies)-enabled construction 3D printing and traditional OSC against various factors such as design complexity, structure property, material type and so on.
Developing a conceptual framework to improve the implementation of 3D printing technology in the construction industry
Published in Architectural Science Review, 2018
Peng Wu, Xianbo Zhao, Jessica Hedi Baller, Xiangyu Wang
Bak (2003) summarized the technology readiness in 3D printing, stating ‘the great advantages, in terms of relatively low costs and very low times for casting availability, contrast with the very poor knowledge concerning the limits of the application and process performances’. At present, the most common materials used in construction 3D printing is concrete (Bos et al. 2016) and steel, which also account for many structural elements in a modern construction project. The strength and durability of concrete make it popular for building base structures. Its fluid yet fast-setting properties enable it to be prominent in the realm of 3D printing construction. However, stiffness appropriate for building up layers, and consistency in moisture to avoid cavities are potential challenges that should be overcome before concreting printing adopted into the construction industry (Bos et al. 2016). In addition, 3D steel printing has emerged. The company called MX3D has started a project to 3D print a pedestrian bridge over a canal in Amsterdam using robotic arms and steel printing technology (The Economist 2015). It is important that various materials can be used in 3D printing to match the performance of industry standard counterparts as a minimum if the technology is to be commercially viable (Labonnote et al. 2016).